Method of constructing certain display and toy articles



P. WESSBERG' Jan. 7, 1936.

METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING CERTAIN DISPLAY AND TOY ARTICLES Filed April 16, 1955 R O T N E V m Patented Jan. 7, 1936 UNITED S'iTES ATENT OFFlQE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING CERTAIN DISPLAY AND TOY ARTICLES Peter Wessberg, Chicago, 111., assignor of fortynine one-hundredths to Chicago, Ill.

H. Arnold Michel,

My invention relates to a new and novel method of constructing flat toy dolls, stands and devices for garment-display, fiat statuettes on which to mount photographs, and the like, made of paper, cardboard, wood, metal, composition or other material, and relates particularly to a novel form of construction to permit the application of cloth or other material to the front of the article and the fastening of said cloth, paper 0 or other material to the back of the article, giving the effect and advantages of an actual dress orother garment being worn by the article.

One form of the invention'is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which shows the component parts and the method of assembling and construction of a fiat toy doll made of cardboard and pressboard.

My object in designing this type of toy doll is to provide a toy which will afford children, as Well as adults; the opportunity and facilities actually to dress the doll with cloth in such manner as to have the dressed doll simulate in appearance an actual human person similarly dressed. All the creases, bulges, drapes and flares of cloth in an actual life-size garment are reproduced on the toy. The opportunity is offered adults,'as well as children, even of tender age, to learn at first hand the designing of clothes, the value of symmetry and choice of color as applied to clothes, and in general to develops, fine'sense of esthetics in clothes-design. There is, needless to say, unending variety of designs and patterns and color-combinations which can be developed.

Figure 1 shows the three component parts of this toy-doll, viz:

1. The front or face, made of cardboard, hear- "ing the printed impression of the subject, e. g.

child, person, cartoon or caricature.

2. The stiffening mounting-board, constructed of card-board, giving stiffness and rigidity to the article.

'3. The back, which being constructed of a resilient material, in this case pressboard, furnishes the medium of tension which holds in place the cloth constituting the dress of the toy doll. The front l and the mounting board 2 are identical in shape and size, however the back 3, although K the same general shape, is cut slightly smaller in size. This difference in size is apparent from a study of the three drawings constituting Figure 1. The. difference in size is specifically illustrated by the extension lines indicated by nu- 55 meral 6 on Figures 1, 2,3 and 1.

Figure 2 shows an analysis of the assembled article. The first operation in the assembly is the affixing of the back 3 to the mounting-board 2. In this particular instance the back 3 is ai'fixed to the mounting-board 2 by means of wire staples. The back 3, when cut, was made slightly smaller than the mounting-board 2, leaving a small margin 6 to accommodate an insertingdevice for inserting the cloth or other material, between the mounting-board 2 and the back 3. The next operation is that of gluing the mounting-board 2 to the back of the front I. When the back 3 is stapled to the mounting-board 2, the ends of the wire staples protrude from the 15 back portion of the back 3 and the front portion of the mounting-board 2. By gluing the mounting-board 2 to the back of the front I, these protruding ends of the staples are hidden from view. Manifestly, these staples could be driven through the entire thickness of the doll, i. e. from the back 3 through the doll to the front I, however this method of construction would leave one end of the staples visible from the front of the doll, spoiling the appearance thereof. 25

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-section of the doll, as indicated by line 1-7, Figure a. It illustrates the method of stapling the back 3 to the mounting-board 2, and concealing the protruding ends of the staples 4, by gluing the front I to the 30 mounting-board 2. It also shows the difference in size between the back 3 and the mountingboard 2 (see numeral 6), leaving a small margin to permit the easy insertion of a device for inserting the cloth or other material between the back 5 3 and the mounting-board 2.

Figure 4, a rear-view, further shows the margin created by the diiference in size between the back 3 and the mounting-board 2. (This difference is indicated by numeral 6.) The drawing also shows the relative positions of the staples 4, in such manner as to firmly anchor the back 3 to the mounting-board 2, and still leave the back 3 sufficiently free from the mounting-board 2 as to permit the insertion of cloth or other material before-mentioned. Due to its inherent resiliency, the back 3, consisting of press-board in this particular instance, creates the necessary tension to support the cloth or other material between it, the back 3, and the mounting-board 2.

The operation of dressing such a toy-doll is easily carried out and greatly simplified by my invention. A skirt, for instance, is to be applied.

A piece of cloth or other material is cut slightly wider than the boundary of the figure is placed in position across the front of the toy doll. The excess of cloth, 1. e. the cloth extending beyond the outlines of the figure is then folded around the front of the doll to the back, and by means of an inserting-device is tucked or inserted between the back 3 and the mounting-board 2. The method by which the back 3 is affixed to the mountingboard 2 permits easy insertion of the cloth. The cloth is held firmly in place by the tension created by the resilient back 3. Other parts of the garment-waist, sleeves, hat, etc., are similarly applied and held in place by the resilient back.

Figure 5 represents the artists conception of the appearance of the toy doll after giving expression to the dressing mentioned above.

Practical and utilitarian applications of the invention are to be made in the addition to the afore-mentioned specific use of my invention in its application to a fiat toy doll, constructed in such manner as to permit its being dressed for the purposes of amusement entertainment and education.

The construction of advertising stands for garment-display, consisting of the image or outline of a human being can be improved by my invention. In their present form, the majority of such display-stands consists of a single fiat sheet of some rigid material, cut so as to reproduce the contour of a human being. These figures are then dressed with an actual garment, either miniature or life-size, depending on the size of the figure, said garment being sewed in the same manner as an actual wearable garment. Great saving of time and diversification of display can be secured by the application of my invention, in the form of the addition of a flexible, yet resilient back, the boundary of which is slightly smaller than the main outline of the figure. This resilient back is affixed to the figure by one of several methods of application, e. g. stapling, nailing, screwing, sewing, gluing, afiixing by hooks and eyes, affixing by means of slots, affixing by means of snaps, and other means, and can be made of any resilient material, whether paper, composition, metal or otherwise. Cloth cut to approximate size can be applied to form the dress, without the necessity of actually sewing it. It is held in place by the resilient back with the result of great saving of time and material, diversification of display and patterns, and means of perfectly reproducing the efiect of a cloth garment fitted to a human body.

The article presents on its face the outline and characteristics of an object or creature to be dressed by dress goods placed on the face and turned rearwardly over the front edge of the outline. The backing sheet together with the doll picture secured thereto provides the essential figure with its outline, with respect to which a tuckgroove is to be formed rearwardly and inwardly of the front edge of the figure. The press-board secured to the back is merely an example of numerous ways in which such a tuck-groove may be formed. Obviously, the press-board could not have its entire face secured to the figure, but it must be unsecured faeially along the periphery in order to provide the tuck-groove. Furthermore, it is obvious that the pressboard need not have the full area illustrated since all of its interior portion does not function to carry out the purposes of the invention. Only because the doll illustrated is a small one, does it appear herein that the pressboard is doll-like in outline and area, and that it is provided in one piece. The

essential function of the pressboard is performed only by the material near the edges or outline of the particular form of pressboard illustrated.

Full-view photographs of individuals are now being mounted on fiat statuettes. These statu- 5 ettes can be greatly improved by the application of my invention, by the addition of a resilient back. The statuette can then be easily dressed, creating novel and practical applications of dressdesigning. 10

In the above specifications I have illustrated and minutely described the present preferred embodiment of my invention, that is, its application to the construction of a fiat toy doll. It is to be understood however, that my invention may be 15 otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

I. A dressable figure for use as a doll, display model or the like comprising a substantially fiat 20 figure having a face, said figure being formed to present a peripheral outline of the predetermined object or creature represented by its face, a stiffening backing of similar outline to which said figure is attached, a resilient sheet secured only 25 to said backing, and securing means extending from said sheet through said backing, said sheet being unsecured to said backing near the periphery of the figure whereby to provide a tuckgroove between said sheet and said backing.

2. A dressable figure for use as a doll, display model or the like comprising a substantially fiat figure having a face, said figure being formed to present a peripheral outline of the predetermined object or creature represented by its face, a 35 stifiening backing of similar outline to which said figure is attached, a resilient sheet secured only to said backing, and securing means extending from said sheet through said backing, said sheet being unsecured to said backing near the periphery of the figure whereby to provide a tuckgroove between said sheet and said backing, the outline of said sheet being slightly within the outline of the backing whereby to form a peripheral margin to facilitate the tucking of dress 5 material into said tuck-groove.

3. A dressable figure for use as a doll, display model or the like comprising a substantially flat figure having a face, said figure being formed to present a peripheral outline of the predetermined 50 object or creature represented by its face, a stiffening backing of similar outline to which said figure is attached, and resilient sheet material partially secured to the backing with an interfacial area along the periphery being unsecured 55 to said backing whereby to form a tuck-groove for the receipt of dress goods.

4. A dressable figure for use as a doll, display model or the like comprising a substantially fiat figure having a face, said figure being formed to 0 present a peripheral outline of the predetermined object or creature represented by its face, and sheet material secured to the back of said figure with an interfacial area along the periphery being unsecured to the back of said figure, whereby to 55 form a tuck-groove for the receipt of dress goods.

5. A dressable figure for use as a doll, display model or the like comprising a substantially flat figure having a face, said figure being formed to present a peripheral outline of the predetermined 7 object or creature represented by its face, and sheet material secured to the back of said figure with an outside edge slightly inward from the outline of the figure, said sheet material thus being unsecured along the periphery to the back of said n figure whereby to form a tuck-groove for the receipt of dress goods.

6. A dressable figure for use as a doll, display model or the like comprising a substantially fiat figure having a face, said figure being formed to present a peripheral outline of the predetermined object or creature represented by its face, said figure being substantially rigid, and a sheet of resilient material of similar but slightly smaller outline secured to the figure but unsecured along the periphery of the figure whereby to form a tuck-groove for the receipt of dress goods.

'7. A dressable figure for use as a doll, display model or the like comprising a substantially fiat figure having a face, said figure being formed to present a peripheral outline of the predetermined object or creature represented by its face, and means forming inwardly of the outline and behind the front edge of said figure a tuck-groove extending over substantially the entire periphery of said figure for the receipt of dress goods placed over the face of the figure and turned back over the front edge of said figure.

8. A dressable figure for use as a doll, display model or the like comprising a substantially fiat figure having a face and of material having appreciable thickness, said figure being formed to present a peripheral outline of the predetermined object or creature to be dressed, said figure presenting laterally of and behind its peripheral outline a tuck-groove into which dress or covering material projecting from the presentable face of the figure may be bent over said face and tucked to fasten the same. 5

9. A dressable figure for use as a doll, display model or the like comprising a substantially fiat figure having a face and of material having appreciable thickness, said figure being formed to present a peripheral outline of the predetermined object or creature to be dressed, said figure having located rearwardly and inwardly of the front edge of the outline tuck recesses extending substantially peripherally of the figure for the receipt of dress goods placed over the face of the figure and turned backwardly over the front edge.

10. A dressable figure for use as a doll, display model or the like comprising a rigid body member in the outline of a predetermined object or creature to be presented for dressing, a facing member with coincident outline presenting characteristic features of said object or creature, said facing member being secured thereto peripherally of said outline, and sheet material of pressboard of slightly smaller but similar outline secured to the body member, but unsecured peripherally, whereby to form a tuck-groove between said body member and said pressboard.

PETER WESSBERG. 

